Hosted by the Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology, the Drexel Green Initiative and the Great Works Symposium, a team of three students, Dheeraj Roy (Biomed), Kevin Freedman (MEM), and Shruti Gour (Biomed), entered the competition with the idea that a novel scientific device would contribute to the nationwide green initiative. "Carbon Nanotube Filter to Reduce Greenhouse Effect,” won the team 2nd place overall and a cash prize of $400.

The challenge of finding a unique green project was accomplished through three weeks of research and regular team meetings. After considering other potential technologies, the team decided to research the applications of carbon nanotubes which Gour first conceptualized. They proposed a filter device that would decrease harmful greenhouse emissions from automobile exhausts. “The long term goal is to return the earth’s greenhouse gasses to the levels observed prior to the Industrial Revolution while the immediate goal is to slow down the greenhouse effect,” said Freedman.

The team received high accolades from the competition’s judges, who were impressed with their novel idea based on their expertise in the field of sustainable green businesses. Going forward, the team hopes to continue participating in University-wide and national green competitions. “Ideally, we hope to gain sources of funding to start-up a business that would develop our proposed device,” said Freedman.